


The Coven's Greatest Failure

by ErisDiscordia



Category: The Owl House (Cartoon), Witchsona Twitter
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Alternate Universe - Future, Angst, Blood, Blood and Violence, Future Fic, Implied/Referenced Self-Harm, Multi, Near Death Experiences, Night Terrors, Nightmares, Original Character(s), Other, Suicidal Thoughts, Swearing, Violence
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-10-15
Updated: 2020-11-06
Packaged: 2021-03-08 17:27:19
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death
Chapters: 4
Words: 8,916
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27020464
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ErisDiscordia/pseuds/ErisDiscordia
Summary: Eris' regret and paranoia begins to catch up with her.
Relationships: Eris Discordia/Tabitha Screamchester
Comments: 1
Kudos: 8





	1. Introductions And Introspection

**Author's Note:**

> Eris goes by she/them, all of these characters except the canon ones are from Witchsona twitter and Eris is my creation. Let me know if I need to add any warnings/tags, I've never really used Ao3 to post before.

The mask was always off putting to Eris. The pale, beaked face covering of the Emperor’s Coven scared her so badly as a child that she feared the guards for a long time. It seemed uncanny - too blank for something that is supposed to represent safety and security. Still - the uniforms and repressed childhood fears weren’t why Eris joined the Emperor’s Coven - they joined to improve the isles, and yet here they were. 

Feared by its citizens, but terrified of the rebels and her own allies alike.

Paranoid of being ambushed by the rebels or being betrayed by the coven she served.

Regretful that she didn’t have the courage to make any of the choices that mattered anymore.

How many has she sent to be petrified? Whenever her thoughts drift to the subject her usually accurate memory gets foggy - like she didn’t want to remember. It all seemed so hopeless now, like she was being pulled along by the current of a river...

...but Eris knew she had the ability to make the choices - she was just too cowardly to make them. Even now, being alone in the forest, her head spun to face every noise she heard. Without her oracle eye being open her mind raced to create every possible unfavorable outcome that could happen, as if that would stop them from occurring. How long had they deluded themselves into thinking they were doing the right thing because they were afraid? How many years had it been, serving the person they despise most in the world, and for what? What did they have to show for it? 

Fear, paranoia, and regret. 

Eris clutched her head and wiped her suddenly teary eyes - now wasn’t the time for this. With a practiced gesture they put their mask on and pulled the hood overhead. In their other hand they did a flourish with their staff as the crow palisman’s beak opened, a scythe’s blade appearing in its maw. 

“Now isn’t the time for hesitation.” Eris said to themselves as a third eye opened under their mask.  
They had a job to do.

It was only a brief walk to where the target was supposed to be, an ancient set of ruins tucked away in the forest that was long abandoned - at least it appeared to be. It looked like a run down temple, likely not used as a place of worship for several decades. With a brief gesture several floating purple eyes appeared, all rushing in different directions both around the building and inside. One by one they flew back to her, all combining their forms into a larger one. Eris rested a hand on the now one remaining eye, seeing everything they saw. The perimeter of the building was clear, only one person inside - sitting with their back turned to the entrance. There was supposed to be more, an entire camp of rebels worth. This was supposed to be the end of the rebellion - somehow they knew she was coming. Unconsciously their gloved hand clenched into a fist, did they have an oracle? A spy perhaps? Eris shook the thought from her head - no time for this, they had a problem to deal with. With confident steps Eris strode into the derelict temple. The figure was shadowed by the ruins above them, whereas the entrance’s ceiling was long gone - allowing moonlight to pour in. 

“I don’t suppose you’d be willing to tell me how you knew I was coming would you?” She stopped walking as soon as she was certain the figure could hear her.

“Nah, I think I’ll let you figure it out yourself.” A voice chuckled, it sounded gravelly - masculine.

“And I take it you aren’t willing to surrender?” Eris asked, taking just a couple more steps towards the figure and flourishing with their scythe to add to the point. They still hadn’t turned around - meaning they either had given up completely or had a plan, though the latter was far more likely. 

“Just resting here is all.” The voice hummed back, still unmoving and facing away. Once more Eris stepped forward, but before her second foot hit the ground the third eye’s premonition kicked in. A vision of the future, just several seconds ahead in time. Eris would take four, maybe five steps and the ground would erupt in an explosion. Snapping back to reality Eris took two steps backwards - it all made sense now. 

“Did you really think that trick would work against me?” Eris shouted at the shadow, that explosion could very well have killed them both had it went off. The figure finally stood, seemingly no longer having a plan. Surprisingly as the figure turned, all it did was shrug. 

“More so I was hoping it would work.” They sighed and stepped forward as they summoned a staff of their own. “This would have been so much easier.” Now within the light the figure was a tad more visible, wearing dark blue robes and a hood that matched. They weren’t a rebel figure that Eris knew, someone new perhaps? The man spoke again, but Eris' premonition struck again - but this one was only a second or two ahead. This time the figures free hand flew forward, several strings around each finger tore and activated the explosives manually. 

“I’m not interested in what you’re saying - to be honest. If you want to fight however” Eris interrupted, drawing a circle in the air and teleporting a few feet outside of the ruins “I'd be happy to oblige, on even ground.” She finished, with a mocking tone while gesturing around herself. 

“Very well.” The man growled as  
he slowly walked out, another premonition struck Eris as she clutched her head and groaned in pain. This time explosions, far closer. As Eris’ normal vision returned she saw chunks of stone being flung at her by the same strings attached to the man’s fingers. She didn’t have enough time to prepare a defense, instead she panicked and partially cast a teleport spell - only moving her a few meters. The large boulder flew past where she was standing a fraction of a second ago and into the trees, colliding with one and instantly exploding. As the debris flew toward both of them, Eris raised her arms to cover her face. She muffled a shout of pain as splinters cut into her arms. 

“What do you fight for? Belos? The Coven? Yourself? All of the isles know who you are, but no one seems to know anything more.” Came a question in many voices, turning back to face them Eris saw that there were four mirror images of the man now - two on either side of him - all speaking and moving in unison. “Is there actually anything more to you than the people you serve? Or do you not even kno-”

“I told you” Eris cut him off, hissing in pain as she drew a spell circle - causing another burst of agony to shoot up her arm. “Not interested. You get this one chance - surrender or die here - alone.” She said, raising her scythe blade toward him as several abominations rose from the ground - not made of their usual mud like substance but rather some form of energy holding stone and earth together. 

“Don’t delude yourself - you and I both know which of those fates is worse.” The man said, him and all of his illusions getting a spell circle ready. Eris drew her scythe into a defensive stance, a silent acknowledgment of the man’s truth. 

She might have answered his questions if she had the answers to any of them.


	2. The Choices We Make

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Reminder to re-read warnings before every chapter, tell me if I need to add any trigger warnings or tags and I will 
> 
> This one isn't as angsty and is more violent (No real gore, just blood and fighting) but next chapter is the scenario that inspired me to write this :>
> 
> Hope you all are ready for that >:D 
> 
> I will say action scenes are definitely my weakness, so sorry if this chapter isn't as good as the 1st one

Brief seconds can feel like they last an eternity when you’re scared, in pain, or simply dreading the future. When Eris felt all three while staring down the unknown man and his illusions, a pit formed at the bottom of her stomach. Her arms already hurt like hell from the attack just before, and then a realization found her. The rebels trusted whoever this was to either beat her, or hold her off. A great deal of trust was put into them - meaning they were either in one of the highest circles of the rebellion, or extremely powerful. The possibility that they were both also was burned into her mind.

Those thoughts cleared themselves from her mind when the man and his mirror images began to move, finishing a spell circle. 

“Thelass, arune sjer!” Eris ordered the two abominations to target the illusions in her demonic tongue, a simple trick that prevented the commands from giving away a strategy if the opponent couldn’t speak it. As the abominations rushed forward to attack the enemies’ illusions her thoughts wandered briefly back to who this person could be, they were clearly well versed in illusion magic. The abominations both threw chunks of the ground toward the clones, dispersing them. 

“Thelass, xur delar!” Eris shouted, commanding the two to corner and restrain the enemy. If they could just get the restraining chains spell around the target it would be over, and then she could figure out how the rebels knew she was coming in the first place. As the two abominations charged forward with their arms out they suddenly erupted with light, shining through both of them. She quickly raised her free hand to cover her eyes as both of the abominations were enveloped in the blinding light, shattering their forms. 

“That’s no abomination magic that I know, what’s a Coven member doing with wild magic? You are quite the anomaly, aren’t you?” 

“I don’t see any other coven members here, do you?” Eris asked rhetorically, though the man still stealthily shot a glance to his sides. “That means I don’t have to play by the rules.” She said, drawing another spell circle with her hand. As soon as the circle was completed a swarm of crows erupted from it and flew toward the man as he braced himself. Eris chanted under her breath, casting a teleportation spell and readying her scythe. The instant she teleported behind him she swung her scythe as hard as she could, colliding with something she couldn’t see halfway but still going through it. Eris took a few steps backwards and as the crows dissipated she could clearly see the man’s staff cut into two pieces on the ground. He was breathing fast and shallow, out of breath from blocking the scythe’s blade. He only stared back at her, preparing another spell wordlessly. The man’s circle caused another flash of blinding light, she tried to shield herself from the blinding light with her still wounded arms to no avail. As Eris tried to defend herself she was struck with a brief premonition. Out of the floating ring of cyan magic multiple bolts of lightning burst from it and flew towards her erratically in directions - as the vision ended it sent a pulse of agony into her head. She shook her head in vain trying to take her mind off of the agony as she spun her scythe, creating a violet shield that absorbed the bolts of lightning - pivoting to protect herself from the ones that had gone beside and behind her. 

“To be honest, I expected more.” The man was clearly taunting her, trying to get a reaction out of Eris. She slowly exhaled, hoping her final spell would end the fight before it dragged on too long. She slammed the scythe into the ground, purple energy cracking and splintering the ground toward the man. She knew it wouldn’t hit him, she just needed him off balance for even a second. He hurriedly cast a spell when he saw Eris’ attack, and a pair of white wings appeared on his back. The wings billowed once, tossing him a few feet into the air - offering her an opening. Eris snapped her fingers and a ring of chains burst from the ground, quickly wrapping around the man - however when they constricted tighter the man disappeared in a cloud of smoke. That should’ve been impossible - the chains prevented magic use when around a target. Then Eris realized that when she was blinded he had ample time to create an illusion beforehand, cursing herself for not realizing earlier.

“And you said the trap was a cheap trick.” The voice echoed from all around her, discerning the direction it came from originally was impossible. Shutting her eyes she attempted to block the noise out and see another premonition, she saw that the rebel had summoned illusions and placed them around the smoke. Shortly after they would distract her and then - Eris suddenly knelt in pain, groaning and clutching her head as a sharp sting interrupted her vision. 

“No, no no no - come on, not now.” She whispered to herself as she used her scythe to support herself. Slowly and shakily she stood. Briefly after she managed to stand Eris heard rapid footsteps, she swung her scythe in that direction and felt the blade collide with something - but got no resistance. Halfway through preparing another swing she felt an incredibly strong impact on her side, the force of it making her cry out in pain and nearly made her lose her balance. Gritting her teeth she recovered as quickly as she could. Eris swung the scythe in the direction the blow came from, this time earning resistance the entire swing and a shriek of agony as the scythe blade came back dripping blood. 

“Fine then - have it your way.” The voices echoed again. Again Eris heard footsteps, this time she waited with a spell circle ready. Briefly an image of the man appeared in her peripheral vision, she sent a beam of violet energy towards it but kept her focus on the other footsteps. Behind her there was one step, slower and lighter than the others. She spun around and swung the scythe downward, it sliced into something and stopped as it got lodged partway through its target. Eris exhaled in relief, prolonged fights were unfavorable to her and tried to pull the scythe back to her but when it didn’t budge at all she tilted her head curiously. Just then a premonition struck her - this one seemingly only a second ahead, the man rushing towards her. She tried her hardest to pull the scythe as a set of footsteps grew louder and closer. Another blow hit her, this time a strike to her stomach strong enough to lift her off the ground. Before her mind even had the time to register the last hit another slammed the side of her face, sending her tumbling out of the smoke and into the trees. 

“You’re so painfully predictable.” Eris barely heard his voice, much less understood what he said. The taste of metal filled her mouth and her ears were ringing. She pushed herself off the ground with both of her arms, seeing a puddle of red beneath her - her bleeding face reflected in it. 

‘Wait’ The single word her only coherent thought as a realization set in and a tide of fear flooded her mind. 

“No, no no no…” Her voice came out as a raspy wheeze, trailing off into silence as the man stared holes into her. She glanced towards him, seeing the pieces of her mask shattered and fragmented on the ground - as well as her scythe sticking out of a block of ice. She could feel her own hood had fallen off and tried her best to cover her face with one of her wounded arms. He was limping towards her and holding his side, a large gash obviously apparent on his blue robes. “Stay back.” She coughed out, voice barely stronger than before while wiping the blood and dirt off of her face. She put all of her strength into pushing herself off of the ground with her free arm, crawling backwards and bracing her back against a tree. Shaking and coughing she slowly stood, trying to formulate any kind of plan. 

“E-Eris?” The man’s voice broke halfway through, as if he couldn’t comprehend what he saw. “Is that you?” He hesitantly pulled his own hood backwards, revealing his own face. As realization struck Eris she began to panic even more, she recognized him. “It’s me - Jieren, from Hexide...do you remember me?” 

“No, no - this can’t be happening..” Her already faint voice trailed off into a whisper, just slightly louder than the near inaudible wind. 

“Sit down Eris, it’s over. Alba and the others will have a lot to ask you.” 

Alba 

If adrenaline could be triggered by a simple name it would have flooded Eris’ veins in that instant. She drew a spell circle with her right hand, sending a bright beam of energy towards Jieren that he blocked by creating a shield with his own magic - the beams refracting and cutting in multiple different directions. One reflected beam cut into her shoulder, ending the spell as her arm went limp. If she had the energy to scream she would have. Her vision went blurry and the ringing in her ears grew unbearably loud as he started speaking again but the noise from that may as well have been silent compared to the ringing. Eris panicked, she couldn’t be seen by any of the rebels - they knew her face and her name. She looked around for anything that may help, glancing towards her scythe. It was still stuck inside the block of ice, but a stray beam had cut into it - partially knocking it loose. This wasn’t quite over yet, but she needed him in a position the scythe could hit him when recalled. 

“You’re really going to take me in alive?” Eris chuckled, keeping one hand hidden slightly behind her, trying not to draw the man’s suspicion. “How many have I brought in? Just end it - you know you want to.” He seemed to hesitate for a moment, pausing in his approach. Whether it was because of what she said or the pain from his wounds was indiscernible but her gut told her it was the former. 

“Maybe not everyone is as cruel as you - did you ever think about that? That some people want the world to be better, no matter the cost.” Halfway through his own monologue he resumed his advance towards Eris - but she was far too caught up on what she was just told to care. A younger version of herself may have said those same words - a braver version.

“I wanted that too..” She just barely whispered out, now averting her gaze from the man. “I really wanted to do better - be better…” Her voice teetered on the edge of breaking as she spoke “ but you can’t. It’s just all awful now..” He hesitated again, this time beginning a few words but never finishing them. “So come on, you’d be saving me the trouble.” Maybe he was considering it, or just dumbfounded by what she said. The man looked away then shook his head.

“No - I won’t. I have a job to do here and a choice to make, just like you.” 

“Then please understand you give me no other choice. Last chance.” A few tears openly fell from Eris’ eyes, why was everyone so eager to die? Foolishness? Bravery? Either way she couldn’t understand it. There was no choice to make here for her…

...or was there?

With all of her energy she cast the spell to pull her scythe to her with the hand behind her back, she looked away until she heard Jieren gasp in surprise and the metallic clang of her scythe falling to the ground. Not long after he dropped to his knees, trying to cast anything in a desperate attempt - and then fell backwards. Eris tried to stand to walk over to him, but her legs gave out after a single step - so she resorted to crawling towards him. Her entire body felt as if it were on fire but she resolved to finish this, to make the right choice for once. 

“Y-you..” Was all he could sputter out, blood now dripping from a large wound in his chest.

“Shut up and listen - you have two choices. You take an everlasting oath to never tell anyone about tonight in ANY capacity or about who I am and I heal you - or you bleed out here.” She stumbled over her own words due to the throbbing ache in her chest, holding out her hand with a ring of violet light around it. He reached out to her, hesitating slightly but clasping her hand tightly. Shakily she made a spell circle with both of her hands over his chest, slowly the wound closed and the man’s breathing steadied. They both laid there for a minute, catching their breath before another wave of agony washed over Eris and she groaned in pain. 

“And what about you? I can’t just leave you like this?” He reached out while speaking softly, like his voice alone would tip her over the edge. 

“No!” Eris burst out without thinking and tried to move backwards, but only crawled an inch or two backwards “If they see I’m not injured but took this long...they’ll know something’s wrong…” It wasn’t entirely a lie, but a part of Eris believed she deserved this - that it was the only way out. 

“Then I won’t heal you all the way, if I leave you like this that’s as good as killing you.” Jieren said as he kneeled down, offering a steady hand.

“..Fine, I don’t really care.” She hissed, gritting her teeth and reaching out with a shaky hand. He placed his hand above her side, creating a spell circle of his own while gently pressing downwards. Despite his cautiousness Eris still had to stifle groans and movements of pain. The large gash in her side closed for the majority of the way and the cut into her shoulder was healed entirely while she insisted the rest of her wounds be left alone. With this she finally had the strength to crawl backwards and brace against the tree as her breathing slowed, exhaling in relief. “Now..you need to leave” Eris coldly said, avoiding looking at the man. Jieren turned around then paused - hesitating for a moment - he looked back at her and held out one hand. 

“It’s not too late, you could come with me.” He pleaded, Eris thought it over for a second, shaking her head to get rid of the thought. 

“No..you’re wrong.” She whispered as she shakily stood up, using the tree for support and rejecting his hand. “It is too late for me. Now go, and tell no one of this.”Eris finished as she pulled her hood upwards and wiped the last of the dirt and blood that clung to her face. Jieren seemed disappointed but didn’t push any further, giving a silent nod of acknowledgement as he started walking in the opposite direction of the abandoned temple. She watched him until he exited her view, making sure he didn’t come back. She walked over to her scythe and picked it up - every step still hurt, but she had survived far worse. Wordlessly she prepared a spell as the blade of the scythe retracted into the crow effigy’s mouth. She slammed the bottom of it into the ground and with a flash of purple the entire building was leveled, along with some of the trees behind it. Nothing remained but the scorched earth, ashen remains of the buildings and billowing smoke. She pulled her scroll out of her pocket and checked any notifications she would have missed during her fight, finding several called from Ana. She sighed, mentally preparing herself for the conversation. With one last inhale and exhale she finally accepted the call, Ana’s face appearing on the scroll. She wasn’t looking toward Eris, busy with something else.

“Status report, you’re nearly half an hour late already.” Ana said as she adjusted some papers in front of her, just barely turning toward Eris. Her eyes went wide as she realized she wasn’t wearing her usual mask and part of her face was bleeding. “What happened?”

“The intel was bad, they knew I was coming.” Eris responded as she clutched a part of her face in new pain that flared up from her speaking. “I’m fine, they’ve been dealt with. No survivors though.” Her heart quickened as she lied to her superior - and far more importantly one of the last people she considered a friend. 

“And you’re sure they knew you were coming?” Ana asked after thinking in silence for a while.

“They ambushed me and there were several traps set up in the area. No other rebels besides the ones that attacked me.” Technically she wasn’t lying Eris thought, trying to justify it to herself as Ana once again deliberated in silence. 

“Can you make it back to the castle by yourself or do you need me to send a detachment to get you?” For a moment it looked like a tiny bit of worry flashed over her tired face as Eris shook her head.

“No, I’m banged up but I’ll live. I’m going to start heading back to the castle in a minute.” Eris answered after a brief pause, pondering whether she would want to accept or not. 

“Very well, safe travels Eris.” Eris only nodded as an answer while Ana returned to her paperwork. Her heart beat still increasing as the weight of what she did hit her, as if it physically pushed down on her chest. She pulled the scroll out of the air and absentmindedly pocketed it. Alone with her nothing but her thoughts she decided it was best to leave now. The scythe blade retreated into the crow’s beak as the staff floated horizontally. She sat down side saddle on it, preparing for the long ride ahead of her - her thoughts the only thing to accompany her on the journey. Did she really just betray the coven - the thing she dedicated her life to - and for someone she barely knew no less? She had victory entirely in her grasp, she didn’t have to heal him or make the oath - she could have just finished it right there. Was it out of bravery or foolishness that she forsook her life’s work for one person that she hadn’t seen since she was a child? Maybe both - or maybe something else, she couldn’t be quite sure. 

But one thing was for certain   
It was the first choice she had made herself in a long time -   
Out of kindness, not cruelty -   
For someone other than the coven -  
A choice that she did have the courage to make -   
and that was enough to take a little bit of the weight off of her chest. 

Even if she knew that there would be consequences for her.


	3. No Rest For The Witch

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Eris returns to the castle with newfound fear

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Reminder to read the tags again, the next chapter will be the main angst because I split this chapter into two, so this is mostly the set up for it. My apologies if the chapters take longer to write from now on as I'm more active on twitter.

“Why did I do that?” Eris asked the question into the howling wind, her only answer the low caw of the crow palisman. “No, it wasn’t because I had a concussion - birdbrain.” She chuckled, her palisman - Cayde - was one of the few companions she still had in her life after joining the coven. Despite being a bit of a brat he always knew how to bring a smile to Eris, even at times like these. She tried to ask another question to the bird but was cut off by a sharp pain in her chest that interrupted her. 

“Shit,” she hissed in pain while clutching an arm to her chest. “it still hurts a lot, can we get to the castle a bit faster?” Eris asked, her breathing now faster and more shallow. Cayde trilled in response, they were close. “That’s a relief, thanks.” If everything went well then no one would ask or pry too hard about her mission. After all, it wasn’t her fault they knew she was coming, and who would suspect Eris of betrayal? It had been several years of serving the coven, and she had rarely - if ever - proven a problem for them. As she felt the staff descend the Emperor’s Castle appeared in view. It had grown over the years, buildings stretched far around the large pit that the castle sat above. After one specific infiltration attempt Belos reached out to the best the construction coven had, and in a matter of weeks the castle was all but unassailable. Many more coven members were hired and assigned to the buildings and positions surrounding it as an added measure of security. She carefully floated down on her staff near the edge of the pit, and then walked to the regiment of guards standing vigilantly in front of where the draw bridge would extend to. 

“I need to report back to the rest of the Coven.” She said, no emotion in her voice except for the hint of pain from speaking. She clutched her bloody side with a hand in a vain attempt to stop a sharp burst of pain from spiraling up into her body. The guardsman seemed confused as Eris’ presence however. 

“You’re late, we were beginning to think you died. Do you require assistance to the healers?” The monotone voice of the guard replied, not even a hint of concern present in their words.

“No, I can manage, just signal the bridge.” She just wanted this to be over with and for the pain to be gone. Maybe after this she would have the excuse to relax for a few days. The guard nodded, raising his hand and signaled the other guards standing watch on the opposite side of the draw bridge. Waiting for it was always a tad awkward, just long enough that you want to make small talk but not long enough that they would seriously consider making it extend faster. Just a small nuisance that became a source of great annoyance to Eris - and likely many more coven members - over their time serving. Eris always waited for it to be connected to the other side for several seconds, the nagging fear it may somehow give out and she’d fall into that abyss always present. Always ever careful when she took the first step, even though the only time someone even came close to falling off of the bridge was when Lilith nearly threw the human off during a duel with her sister. 

As Eris walked across the long bridge she wondered if it was possible someone had set her up when she had gone to capture the rebels. It seemed unlikely, she rarely had interactions with other coven members unless necessary - and even rarer were they negative ones. It didn’t seem very plausible, but the possibility that the rebellion had an oracle strong enough to predict when their camp would be found seemed less likely. It would take many strong oracles for a spell like that...but it certainly wasn’t impossible - but it meant the rebellion would be exponentially harder to deal with. The only other possible solutions seemed to be that there was a spy, or somehow the intel had been leaked. Neither too unlikely, but still difficult enough to be annoying to uncover. She stopped thinking and walking as she stood before the metal rune covered gate. She presented an ungloved hand that emitted a light when held up to the metal, causing the heavy metal bars to recede into the walls and ceiling. A simple spell to keep the castle free of intruders, but effective enough. Many wandering coven members glared and whispered as she passed, likely wondering why she appeared so wounded. She averted her gaze and stared at the ground in hope that that alone would stop anyone from trying to speak to her. 

As she neared the healer’s office she couldn’t help but smile at the sudden smell of scented candles. The healer was an older woman, very eccentric as well as kind - not to mention one of the best healers the Isles had ever seen. Irina was the only name she went by, and she had likely dedicated more years of her life to the coven than Eris had existed for. The old woman was reading a book in a chair, facing away from the door and didn’t seem to hear Eris come in. 

“Miss Irina? You awake?” She asked hesitantly, trying not to intrude despite her injuries. It seemed to be enough to get the woman’s attention though, as she slowly turned her head around to face her - eyes widening as she saw her dirty and bloodied clothes.

“Oh dear, sit down. What happened to you?” Her voice was shaky and ever so slightly shrill, a sign of her older age. She stood as quickly as her body let her as she began to guide Eris to a table. 

“I’m fine, really. I healed myself enough to make it back. Just need a little bit of help with it.” Eris informed her, trying to keep her assured that she wasn’t seriously injured despite her appearance. The elderly woman was extremely kind, but even more so stubborn. As she was guided to a chair by the old healer she felt her body relax unconsciously. Feeling safe was rare, even when Eris was in the castle. Always paranoid that somehow someone secretly wanted to get rid of her - and her being sent into a trap certainly wouldn’t help with that from now on. 

“The rebels did this to you, Eris? How did they do this?” Irina asked her again, still overly concerned for the younger witch. 

“Irina, really I’m fine. It was just more than expected is all. If I wasn’t going to be okay they would’ve brought me in on a stretcher you know?” She laughed at the other woman’s heightened concern in an attempt to calm her down slightly, though this didn’t seem to have much of an affect on her. Irina’s eyes still narrowed ever so slightly in a look of suspicion. Eris began to pull off the outer layer of her clothing so Irina could get a better look at her injuries, relieved to be out of the dirty and bloody clothing. It hurt slightly to peel it off, her skin now painfully aware of the room’s colder temperature. 

“Very well, let’s get you patched up then dear.” She took another long look at Eris’ face, likely searching for wounds or abrasions but her gaze lingered slightly too long and tore itself away awkwardly. “I know you can handle yourself - I’m just an old worrywart. I do have one question for you, however.” Eris tilted her head to the side wondering what she meant. 

“What would that be?” She asked, heart beat noticeably quickening as she worried somehow the old woman had somehow found her out. 

“Where’s your mask? I hardly see you without it these days.” Eris quietly sighed in relief.

“Oh, got busted in the fight. I have several more so it’s not a big deal.” She responded dryly as the other woman began wrapping bandages around the most injured parts of her.. “It doesn’t look that bad does it?” 

“No, you’ll heal quickly. You have a pretty large gash in your stomach and some scrapes in many places on your arms. So long as you keep these healing glyphs on and replace the bandages regularly you’ll be good as new in no time.” Irina smiled at her as Eris returned the gesture. 

“Thank you, Irina. Could you inform Belos the rest of the coven I’ll need a day or two before returning to the field? I’d like to rest for now.” 

“Of course Eris - go easy on yourself, you hear me? All of you need to relax a little bit sometime. Especially Ana, poor thing.” 

“What can I say? We’re all very dedicated to the coven after all. But I'll take care of myself, I promise.” Eris attempted to reassure the older woman, who sighed at her response. Seemingly unmoved by it. 

“You all always say that, but never seem to abide by it for long.” Irina said rather dejectedly, turning around and slowly walked over back to her own chair. “Just take care of yourself, you hear me?”

“Of course, Irina. I will.” Eris finished as she stood as well, the healing glyphs doing a great deal to numb the pain of the still somewhat fresh wounds. “Thank you, hopefully I can go to sleep after the debrief. Maybe conduct some more experiments on wild magic if possible.” She hoped she may one day spread wild magic to the isles - not just the other coven members. 

“That sounds wonderful, dear. Are you close to another breakthrough?” 

“Unfortunately not really. But who knows, sometimes the most successful approach is staring you in the face. I’ll head back to my chambers, see you around Irina.” She gave one last wave as she headed for the exit of the healer’s office. 

“Remember what I said, dear.” Was all the old healer said as Eris left. Finally most of the pain was gone, some still remained in her arms and one of her legs - but she reasoned to herself that somehow she deserved it. Her mind was always like that recently, justifying inconveniences and whatever pain may come her way. As time went on she found it harder to fight against these thoughts, disagreeing with them seeming to only increase their volume. She pushed the thoughts as deep as possible as she walked through the halls of the castle to her chambers. 

‘This may be my only break for a long time, I’d like to enjoy it.’ She pleaded back to her own doubts and insecurities, as if that may stifle their incessant voices. She once again held an ungloved hand to the large door of her room, it responded with a violet light of its own - opening shortly after. Closing it behind her she walked over to her bed and sat down to take off her boots. 

“I’ll take a short nap, then begin some experiments.” She whispered to herself as she set an alarm on her scroll. It had been nearly two years since she had succeeded in creating void magic, and she suspected Belos was becoming impatient. Nearly the instant she closed her eyes she felt herself drifting off into sleep. 

Suddenly a series of knocks on her door shot her awake, somewhat infuriating her. 

“What is it?” She called to the door, hoping she wouldn’t even have to get up to deal with this situation.

“Ma’am, Belos wishes to speak with you.” Her heart stopped at what the nameless voice on the other side of the door said.

“W-what? Did he say why?” Eris fumbled over her words as her heart went from a standstill to beating so fast she shook. 

“No ma’am, he only said to be in his chambers by the hour.” The voice finished while a set of footsteps were heard walking away from her door. She tried to comfort herself, reasoning that he only needed a recap of her mission and that there would be no possible way that he could know what would have happened. If Belos knew she would almost certainly have been detained already, otherwise she would have had a chance to flee the castle - and why would he give her a chance to escape? With one long inhale she stood up and began dressing herself for her meeting with the emperor. 

Maybe this would be in her favor after all?


	4. The Price of Failure

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Eris has a conversation with Emperor Belos - and then herself.

Eris knew her optimism was at best naive and could at worst be her downfall, but it was the only thing keeping her calm at the moment while she aimlessly paced in front of the throne room’s giant door. Surely if Belos knew she would be detained, right? No matter how many times she reasoned that it always crept back into her mind that somehow this was all some sort of set up. 

Maybe Jieren was a coven plant?

Maybe this was a test to ensure her loyalty? 

No, no that seemed impossibly unlikely and outlandish, even in her paranoid state of mind that seemed very unlikely. The coven needed as many powerful witches as possible since the rebellion only seemed to grow in numbers and strength, and tests of loyalty never went this far. None of it logically led to her being suspected, yet all her mind could think of was danger. Eris inhaled and held the breath in for several seconds.

‘Focus’ she thought to herself ‘it will be alright, but if I continue to panic Belos will definitely suspect me of lying.’

“Good evening Eris, Emperor Belos is expecting you.” The voice of a coven member exiting the throne room spoke, bowing to her.

“No need for the formalities, friend. Thank you, I’ll see him immediately.” She answered, trying to not seem so worried to the masked person. As she walked into the throne room she heard the large doors closing behind her. At the other end of the large open room sat the Emperor on his throne, underneath the large beating heart of the castle. Flanked by several guards on each side. As the great doors finally shut the loud noise startled her, causing her to tense up as she walked. Finally only a few feet in front of the emperor she knelt and bowed her head.

“You asked for me, my emperor?” She asked him lowly, using all her strength to keep her voice steady. 

“I did - actually, guards, could we have some privacy? My apologies, It’s so rare to see you out of your chambers these days after all - our conversation here is rather important.” He said, tilting his masked head as he spoke. Sure enough the guards began exiting the room as soon as the order was given, which was extremely odd. Belos was typically pretty lax on his own security - he was confident in his own strength, but it was still odd.

“Sir, that’s not necessary..” Her voice trembled slightly as the guards all walked out of the throne room, leaving her alone with nothing but Belos and herself. The sound of her own heartbeat drowned out the noise of the massive beating heart hanging above Belos’ throne. Her panic reignited as she realized no one would know if anything were to happen to her in this room - let alone see or hear it. 

“Don’t worry, this should be rather quick. Besides, we don’t want anyone to hear important information do we?” Her heart felt like it stopped and jump started several times in a fraction of a second. “So then, how about we start with a report on your mission today?”

“I was ambushed, sir...they somehow knew I was coming.” Her voice was slow and quiet, but still held steady. 

“Continue.” Was all Belos said after a long pause following what Eris said.

“And I was injured severely when they caught me off guard - there weren’t any survivors or trace of where the other rebels went off to. I’m sorry my Emperor.” She said, her heart slowing down uncomfortably as she lied to the most powerful person to ever live. 

“So nothing of value gained then?” Belos replied bluntly following a sigh, normally it would have made her heart sink somewhat that their leader didn’t worry even slightly for her, but since it wasn’t him accusing Eris of betrayal it was far better than what she had in mind. 

“No, except for three rebels confirmed to be dead. Again I apologize, Emperor. I don’t think I would have survived if I tried to take them in alive.” 

“And how goes your experimentation with wild magic? Have you made any progress? Void magic was some time ago after all.” He asked, now that actually worried Eris. It took her a long time to find void, and even then it wasn’t ‘truly’ a success. Belos only permitted the coven and its members to use it, she hadn’t found any magic that could be given to the citizens of the isles.

“No sir - I haven’t had time recently. I have found some individual spells here and there but nothing on the scale of a coven, my apologies.” She forced her gaze back to him as she hoped that he would be satisfied with that answer. 

“So then - no progress on either front I see.” Belos’ voice echoed throughout the throne room as he stood, walking to where Eris was knelt on the ground. For such a large person his footsteps were eerily quiet. 

“I know sir, I’m sorry. If I could be given more time to focus on just one task instead of trying to work on both I could make more progress - please.” She asked him while keeping her voice low, not wanting to risk his anger. 

“My patience is wearing thin. I put a great deal of faith into you when I allowed you to experiment with wild magic, and in all these years you’ve only had one success.” 

“I-I know, please just listen” Her voice lost all strength and volume, practically begging the man. Few people intimidated her, if any, but Belos was different, it was as if he spoke to your soul - to your core itself. 

“And what could you have to say that would possibly change my mind?” 

“It takes a long time due to the amount of text that was destroyed over the years, I’ve gone over every book in the castle’s library. All that’s left are the books sold on the black market and ancient tablets, it just takes a long time to get my hands on the magic before I can even study it.” Belos seemed to ponder that for several seconds, maybe her words actually swayed him.

“Then we should discontinue this until the rebellion’s numbers dwindle, don’t you agree? As you said - you should be given more time to one task.” No, no he was using her own words against her. She joined the coven to spread wild magic, plus the time she dedicated to wild magic was some of the only time she enjoyed these days - it quite literally kept her sane. 

“Belos, please just-” her sentence was cut off. 

“I’ve had enough of this conversation, Eris. You have your orders.” He interrupted, walking around her to where she could no longer see him from where she had knelt. 

“..I..I’m sorry, sir..” She whispered out as she let out a breath she didn’t know she was holding. 

“I’ll give you the time you need to experiment as you are healing from today’s mission, but unless you make significant progress I’ll place the project on hold indefinitely, understand?” Belos said, again walking out in front of her, back turned to Eris. 

‘You could end this, all of it.’ Her thoughts intruded on their conversation. ‘Just one anti magic chain spell and it’s over, the isles would be free and maybe - just maybe - they could forgive you.’ She attempted to stand, trying to get a hold of herself, faltering halfway and returning to her kneeling position. ‘No, no no no stop. Stop..’ echoed repeatedly in her thoughts. 

“Unwise, Eris.” The words pierced her very being, not her thoughts - but something else entirely. 

“S-sir? I’m, I don’t - what’s happening to me..?” Eris’ voice was weaker, even more than before. She tried desperately to think of a reason this was happening to her, in a desperate attempt she opened her third eye - grasping at some possible reason her body was failing her. A premonition struck her nearly immediately, which caused her to panic even more. As the vision took hold over her own sight Eris’ mind recoiled at it - it showed her nothing. In an instant she was painfully brought out of it, gasping for air after the sudden change. 

“Normally I would have you imprisoned for using magic in my presence, however given how you were likely panicking I might just graciously forgive you this once.” Eris tried to respond, but nothing came out of her throat except for a hoarse gasp. “I can see your doubt, I see ALL through The Titan.” This time Belos didn’t say the words, they bounced around her thoughts and echoed painfully.

“P-please help me..” She croaked out, begging the Emperor. 

“I can tell this is important to you - especially considering your previous foster parents - but challenge an order like that again and I won’t hesitate to strip you of your rank and banish you, understand? We don’t have time to waste on this with the rebellion growing as fast as they are. I suggest you prepare to abandon your experiments unless you wish to join your family in a cell.” Eris couldn’t answer, her voice was caught in her throat. How did he know about her parents? Those documents were long since buried, not to mention she had never visited or visited them - even before joining the coven. 

“You-” Was all she could manage to sputter out after several seconds and attempts She barely looked towards Belos, seeing a dark colored spell flickering in his hand. Her eyes widened as she recognized it from the very void magic she found. A spell to drain the magical bile itself from a witch, but she had never been on this end of it. Typically it was reserved for taking the magic away from violent offenders, but they were always sedated due to how dangerous and painful the process could be. 

“Don’t worry - you’ll survive. I’m just giving you a friendly reminder is all.”

“I - p-please..” Her voice was already hoarse, it felt like she couldn’t breathe. As Belos drained the magic from her it felt as if blood was being stolen directly from her heart and the air from her lungs evaporated - but she couldn’t scream. It was like she was in a vacuum of some sort - unable to breathe, move or make a sound - not even her thoughts seemed to function. The only thing her brain could do was beg her body to move, to get away from it. She tried to crawl backwards, but her body didn’t have the strength to move more than an inch or two at a time. Eris’ arms gave out next, leaving her defenseless on the floor writhing from the spell. 

“You’re dismissed - I hope you remember this conversation.” Was all Belos said as he snapped his fingers and returned to his throne. As quickly as it started the pain ended, and Eris immediately gasped for air, clutching her own throat. Her gaze cast to Belos briefly as she stood and ran to exit the throne room - nearly tripping several times due to her weakened state. She struggled to push open one of the doors with her entire body wracked with agony. For once she was thankful the halls of the castle were nearly entirely vacant - unsure what the other members would think, if they would even believe her, or if she’d even tell them. 

“Are you alright?” One faceless coven guard asked Eris as she pushed past them - desperately wanting nothing more than to get back to her chambers. The person didn’t pursue her any further as she used all her energy to push herself to her room - the entirety of her chest still burning in agony. As she neared her own room her vision started swimming and ears began ringing. Once again her legs faltered as she fell to her knees a few feet in front of her door, breathing as fast as her lungs would let her. She dragged herself forwards using the wall as support, roughly pulling a glove off and shakily holding the bare hand before the runes on the door. She shut the door behind her, slumping onto it and then slid down it. She felt so weak and tired, probably the most she ever felt in her life. She felt like crying, but lacked the energy to even do that. In her heart she felt something else, a sharp cold feeling she didn’t recognize.

Acceptance maybe? Possibly resignation? The thought that she deserved this - and more - could never leave her head, no matter how hard she tried. She certainly felt those, but could tell that wasn’t the feeling. What was it then? Focusing on the mystery feeling was the only thing keeping her from breaking out into sobs. 

It dawned on her - it was vindication.

All her life the nagging thought that the coven could never be reformed and that it was foolish to even try was always in her mind, but after she joined the coven though those thoughts had to be thrown aside. 

But even thrown to the back of her mind, the thought still lingered. The thought that everything in her recent life was in vain. 

All the effort

All the pain she endured

All the people she cast aside

And all the injustices she let happen for the greater good; meant nothing. 

That crushing thought of how futile everything turned out to be in the end despite her every effort was finally enough to make her cry as she buried her head in her arms, hoping somehow she’d disappear and fade into obscurity. She walked over to her bed and collapsed on it, hoping somehow it may comfort her. As Eris eventually struggled to stay awake due to her weak and tired state she wondered - was this all even worth it? 

Her own muffled sobs shaking her already trembling form served as an answer for her as she drifted to sleep.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is the main scenario I had in mind when writing this - the next chapter may take longer to write btw, but I do intend on writing at least one more.


End file.
